Strength of schedule is one of the main factors that will be hotly debated this season, both inside and outside the College Football Playoff selection committee proceedings. First and foremost, however, contenders simply need to win games. For some teams, wins will be harder to come by this fall than they were a year ago based on the projected strength of the opposition. For others, a few speed bumps were removed.

On Wednesday, we identified five programs that have a much easier regular season schedule this fall than they did in 2013. The Iowa Hawkeyes top the list, an unspectacular Big Ten program that might find itself with a gaudy record at the end of the year.

On Thursday, we identified five programs that have a much tougher regular season schedule this fall than they did in 2013. The Auburn Tigers could be an elite team that plays its way out of the playoff hunt with one too many losses.